Profiles for precursors to polymeric materials

ABSTRACT

Methods for obtaining a profile for a batch, or lot, of a precursor material and using the profile while processing the precursor material to form a polymer are disclosed. In such a method, a process profile that corresponds to the characteristics of a particular precursor material (e.g., the batch, etc.) may be generated. That process profile may then be used to cause a material processing system to process the precursor material in a manner that accounts for differences between that precursor material and a “standard” precursor material, while providing a polymer and, optionally, a film of “standard” quality. Apparatuses and systems that are configured to obtain profile data for a batch of precursor material, generate or modify a process profile based on the profile data and use the process profile to form a polymer are also disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/737,737, filed on Jan. 9, 2013 and titled PRECURSORSUPPLIES, MATERIAL PROCESSING SYSTEMS WITH WHICH PRECURSOR SUPPLIES ARECONFIGURED TO BE USED AND ASSOCIATED METHODS (“the '737 application”),in which a claim for the priority of the benefit of the Jan. 10, 2012filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/585,150, titledPRECURSOR SUPPLIES, MATERIAL PROCESSING SYSTEMS WITH WHICH PRECURSORSUPPLIES ARE CONFIGURED TO BE USED AND ASSOCIATED METHODS (“the '150Provisional application”), has been made pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(e).The entire disclosures of the '737 application and the '150 Provisionalapplication are hereby incorporated herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to methods, systems and apparatusesfor obtaining a profile for a batch, or lot, of a precursor material andusing the profile while processing the precursor material to form apolymer. More specifically, this disclosure relates to methods, systemsand apparatuses for generating a vaporization profile tailored to eachparticular batch of precursor material and for using such tailoredvaporization profiles to achieve consistency in polymers frombatch-to-batch.

RELATED ART

Based on the assumption that all precursor materials will have the samequality, deposition equipment is commonly tuned to repeatedly performthe same processes, with the expectation that the results of thoseprocesses (e.g., polymer quality, film quality, etc.) will beconsistent. Unfortunately, the characteristics and/or quality of aprecursor material (e.g., its purity, the presence of additionalconstituents, the extent to which additional constituents are present,etc.) may vary from one batch of precursor material to another batch ofthe same precursor material. Without limitation, the amounts of residualsolvents (e.g., toluene, xylene, etc.) in one batch of precursormaterial may vary from the residual amounts of the same solvents in adifferent batch of precursor material. As another example, the purity,quality and/or other characteristics of precursor material from onesource may differ from the respective purity, quality and/or othercharacteristics of the same type of precursor material from anothersource.

When a standard process is used to process the precursor material, i.e.,to form a polymer from the precursor material and, optionally, todeposit a film that comprises the polymer, variations in the purity,quality and/or other characteristics of the precursor material may haveaffect the quality or other characteristics of the polymer that isformed (e.g., deposited, etc.) and of any film that comprises thepolymer. More specifically, when the quality of a precursor materialdiffers from the quality of a precursor material upon which a standardprocess is based (i.e., the standard quality for that precursormaterial), the differences in quality affect the processes that areperformed by the deposition equipment, which often has an effect on thecharacteristics and/or quality of the polymers and/or films that areformed by such processes.

In particular, the presence of solvents or other impurities in aprecursor to a poly(p-xylylene) polymer (e.g., a [2.2]paracyclophane,etc.) can cause premature pressure spikes, which may result in increasedpressure during pyrolysis and/or deposition. In turn, increased pressureduring pyrolysis and/or deposition may have an adverse effect on thequality of a polymer and film formed as a result of the process. As anexample, the application of a flawed film to a full batch of 2,000electronic substrates having a value of $250 apiece could result in aloss of $500,000, as well as damage the reputation of the partiesinvolved with the material deposition process (e.g., the equipmentmanufacturer, the party coating the substrates, etc.).

SUMMARY

This disclosure, in various aspects, relates to profiles for precursorsto polymeric materials. The profile for such a precursor is consideredwhile processing the precursor to provide a polymer and, optionally, afilm of standard quality despite variations in quality between astandard precursor and the precursor that is actually processed. As usedherein, the term “quality” may refer to any of a variety of differentcharacteristics, including, without limitation, the purity of aprecursor material, the presence of additional constituents in theprecursor material, the extent to which additional constituents arepresent in the precursor material and the like. The term “constituent,”as used herein, includes any residual solvents in the precursormaterial, other impurities or contaminants in the precursor material,additives to the precursor material and the like.

In one aspect, this disclosure relates to techniques, or methods, forobtaining a profile for a batch, or a lot, of a precursor material. Sucha technique includes analyzing at least one characteristic of theprecursor material. Various embodiments of such a characteristicinclude, without limitation, a purity of the batch of the precursormaterial, identification of one or more impurities in the batch of theprecursor material, the amounts (e.g., proportions, percentages, etc.)of one or more impurities in the batch of the precursor material and thelike.

Once one or more characteristics of the batch of the precursor materialhave been determined, a profile for the batch of the precursor materialmay be generated. The data that corresponds to such a profile mayinclude simple numbers, such as a purity level, an identity of at leastone impurity, an amount of at least one impurity or the like.Optionally, the profile may be more complex, providing a plurality ofspecific details about the batch of precursor material, impurities,other components and their relative amounts. In some embodiments, theprofile may comprise a vaporization profile, which may account for oneor more characteristics of the batch of precursor material, as well asthe potential effects that various constituents of the batch ofprecursor material may have (e.g., on a temperature ramp, on pressure,etc.) while the batch of precursor material is heated to a vaporizationtemperature. The profile for the batch of the precursor material, or arepresentation of the profile, may be stored on a tag, which may beconfigured to communicate the profile to a corresponding reader of amaterial processing apparatus.

Once the profile for the batch of precursor material has been generated,a quantity of that batch of the precursor material may be packaged. Insome embodiments, packaging of the precursor material may includeintroduction of the precursor material into a reservoir of a containerfor the precursor material, which is referred to herein as a “thermalevaporation boat” or, more simply, as a “boat.” In addition, the tag maybe associated with the packaged precursor material (e.g., placed withinthe reservoir of the boat, secured to the boat, etc.).

In another aspect, a system for preparing a batch of a precursormaterial for packaging is disclosed. Such a system may include aprofiling element, a programming element and a packaging element. Insome embodiments, a system for preparing a batch of a precursor materialfor packaging may also include an output element for providing a profileof the batch of the precursor material in a physical form.

The profiling element of a system for preparing a batch of a precursormaterial for packaging may be configured to obtain information, or data,that may be useful in generating the profile for the batch of theprecursor material. In some embodiments, the profiling element maycomprise a chemical analyzer of a known type. In other embodiments, theprofiling element may comprise a calibration apparatus, which maycomprise a small version of a material processing apparatus thatrecreates and allows for investigation of volatilization conditionspresent within a commercial material processing apparatus.

The programming element may be configured or programmed to store datacorresponding to the profile for the batch of the precursor material.More specifically, the programming element may store the data on a tag.In some embodiments, the programming element may be configured to storethe data on the tag electronically. In other embodiments, theprogramming element may generate an optically scannable elementcontaining the data. In embodiments where the system includes an outputelement, the output element may convert an optically scannable elementthat carries the data corresponding to the profile into a physical form.

The packaging element of a system for preparing a batch of a precursormaterial for packaging may be configured to package a quantity of theprecursor material and to associate the tag with the packaged quantityof precursor material. Without limitation, the packaging element mayintroduce a quantity of the precursor material into a reservoir of aboat, and associate the tag with the boat or with the quantity ofprecursor material within the boat.

According to another aspect, a method for processing a precursormaterial is disclosed. Such a method includes inserting a packagedquantity of precursor material (e.g., a boat that carries a quantity ofprecursor material, etc.) and a corresponding tag into a receptacle of amaterial processing apparatus, such as a receptacle associated with avaporization chamber of a material deposition apparatus. With the tag inproximity to the material processing apparatus, or at least a readerthereof, the data from the tag—the profile that corresponds specificallyto the packaged precursor material to which the tag corresponds—may becommunicated to the material processing apparatus, or to a readerthereof. The reader may then generate a signal that carries the data toa data processing element of the material processing apparatus, and thedata processing element may cause the material deposition apparatus, ora component thereof (e.g. a vaporization component of a materialdeposition apparatus, etc.), to process (e.g., vaporize, etc.) theprecursor material in accordance with the data.

In embodiments where the material processing apparatus comprises amaterial deposition apparatus that is configured to vaporize theprecursor material, the data may include a vaporization profile tailoredto the precursor material or, more specifically, to the batch of theprecursor material from which the precursor material was obtained. Thevaporization profile may then be communicated to a data processingelement of a material deposition apparatus, which may then vaporize theprecursor material in accordance with the vaporization profile. In otherembodiments, the data may include information about the precursormaterial to which the tag corresponds or, more specifically, the batchof the precursor material from which the corresponding precursormaterial was obtained. Once that information is communicated to a dataprocessing element of a material processing apparatus, programming ofthe data processing element may enable the data processing element touse that information to generate process profile (e.g., a vaporizationprofile, etc.), which may also be referred to as a “performanceprofile,” appropriate for the precursor material, and the dataprocessing element may then cause the material deposition apparatus toprocess (e.g., vaporize, etc.) the precursor material in accordance withthe process profile.

A material processing apparatus is also disclosed. As indicatedpreviously herein, in various embodiments, the material processingapparatus may comprise a material deposition apparatus. A materialprocessing apparatus according to this disclosure may include areceptacle for a quantity of packaged precursor material (e.g., a boat,etc.), a reader, a data processing element and a material processingcomponent. The reader, which is associated with the receptacle for thepackaged precursor material, may be configured to obtain data carried bya tag that is associated with the packaged precursor material. The datacarried by the tag corresponds to the precursor material or, morespecifically, to a batch of precursor material from which the precursormaterial was obtained.

The reader may also be configured to communicate the data from the tagto a data processing element of the material processing apparatus. Insome embodiments, the reader may generate a signal that carries thedata.

Upon receiving the signal from the reader, the data processing elementmay, under control of one or more programs, process the data. Processingof the data may include obtaining from the signal a process profile(e.g., a vaporization profile, etc.) for the precursor material.Alternatively, the data processing element may process data from thesignal and use that data to generate a process profile for the precursormaterial. In some embodiments, the process profile may be generatedbased on a standard process profile for a standard precursor material(i.e., for a precursor material of standard purity, for a precursormaterial with a standard amount of one or more impurities, for aprecursor material with a standard amount of one or more solvents,etc.). In other embodiments, the data processing element may generatethe process profile by inputting the data into an algorithm.

With a process profile that corresponds to the packaged precursormaterial, or, more specifically, to the batch from which the precursormaterial was obtained, the data processing element may use the processprofile to control one or more aspects of a material processingcomponent of the material deposition apparatus. Without limitation, thedata processing element may control a temperature (e.g., a temperatureramp, a process temperature (e.g., vaporization temperature, etc.),etc.) and/or a pressure at which the precursor material is processed(e.g., vaporized, etc.).

Other aspects, as well as various features and advantages of thedisclosed subject matter will become apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art through consideration of the ensuing disclosure, the appendedclaims and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a vaporization profile that may beused while processing the precursor material to form a polymer and,optionally, a film formed from the polymer;

FIG. 2 depicts an embodiment of an analyzer for determining a quality ofa sample of a batch of a precursor material;

FIG. 3 schematically depicts a packaged precursor material, in which theprecursor material is carried by a reservoir of a boat, and the boatalso carries a tag that carries data corresponding to one or morecharacteristics of the precursor material within the boat; and

FIG. 4 provides a schematic representation of a material processingapparatus that is configured to receive a precursor material that hasbeen packaged in a manner such as that depicted by FIG. 2 and to processthe precursor material in a manner that accommodates the at least onecharacteristic while providing a polymer and/or film of standardquality.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a pressure profile curve for an embodiment of a batch ofprecursor material. More specifically, the pressure profile curve ofFIG. 1 represents a pressure profile for monomers, or reactive species,that are formed as a poly(p-xylylene) precursor, such as anunsubstituted or substituted [2.2]paracyclophane, is processed (e.g.,vaporized and pyrolyzed, etc.). Even more specifically, FIG. 1 depictscorresponding two pressure profile curves: (1) a standard pressure curve10 based on the contribution of monomers to the overall pressure withinat least a portion of a material deposition apparatus (e.g., thedeposition chamber thereof, etc.) when the precursor material isprocessed; and (2) a batch-specific pressure curve 10′ that correspondsto the overall pressure within at least one corresponding portion of thematerial deposition apparatus when a particular batch of a precursormaterial of the same type as the standard precursor material isprocessed.

The standard pressure curve 10 corresponds to the pressure that wouldresult from processing a precursor material that lacks constituents thatwould vaporize at temperatures lower than or equal to the temperature atwhich the precursor material itself vaporizes. Such a precursor materialmay be referred to herein as a “standard precursor material.” Inembodiments where the precursor material comprises a precursor to apoly(p-xylylene), the standard precursor material may substantially lackany volatile constituents, such as additives and solvents (e.g., tolueneand/or xylene, etc.), or impurities. As used herein, the phrase“substantially lack” indicates that a precursor material may lackamounts of volatile materials or other impurities that might have aneffect on a pressure profile for the precursor material itself.

The batch-specific pressure curve 10′ corresponds to a pressure thatresults from processing a batch of precursor material that varies fromthe standard precursor material. In the embodiment depicted by FIG. 1,the batch-specific vaporization curve 10′ represents a batch of theprecursor material that includes sufficient amounts of toluene andxylene to have an effect on the pressure profile for the precursormaterial itself.

Notably, portions at the left and right sides of the standardvaporization curve 10 and the batch-specific vaporization curve 10′coincide. The divergent portions of the standard vaporization curve 10and the batch-specific vaporization curve 10′ are caused by differencesbetween the standard precursor material and the batch of the precursormaterial. In embodiments where the precursor material comprises a[2.2]paracyclophane or another precursor to a poly(p-xylylene), a batchof the precursor material may include residual toluene and xylene, whichare solvents and may also be considered to be impurities in theprecursor material. Because toluene and xylene are both volatilematerials with boiling points (i.e., 110° C. and 138 C, respectively)that are less than the vaporization temperature of the[2.2]paracyclophane (i.e., about 170° C.), the presence of each of thesematerials in the precursor material may increase pressure as thetemperature of a vaporization component of a material depositionapparatus or another embodiment of material processing apparatus isramped up to a temperature that will vaporize the precursor material.The increases in pressure caused by toluene and xylene are representedalong the batch-specific pressure curve 10′. In particular, thebatch-specific pressure curve 10′ includes a toluene vaporization peak12′ that corresponds to a location 12 on the standard pressure curve 10that lacks a peak, as well as a xylene vaporization peak 14′ thatcorresponds to a location 14 on the standard pressure curve 10 thatlacks a peak.

At a location 16′ to the right of the xylene vaporization peak 14′, thebatch-specific pressure curve 10′ indicates that reactive species formedfrom the batch of precursor material are still subjected to a higherpressure than the pressure to which reactive species from a standardprecursor material would be subjected at the same point 16 in theprocess. This difference in pressure is a residual effect of the xylenepressure peak 14′, and may have a significant effect on the polymer thatis formed and/or on a film that comprises the polymer.

In view of the potential effects of the quality of a batch of aprecursor material (e.g., various solvents in the batch of the precursormaterial, other impurities or other constituents of the batch of theprecursor material, additives to the precursor material, etc.) on themanner in which the precursor material may be processed, and on thequality of a polymer and film formed by processing the precursormaterial, an understanding of the quality of the batch of the precursormaterial prior to processing may be useful for predicting how precursormaterial from the batch might affect processing, as well as the qualityof a polymer formed from the precursor material. Accordingly, thequality of a sample from a batch of a precursor material may beanalyzed, and information obtained from that analysis may be used togenerate a process that is tailored to the batch of precursor material.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of an analyzer 30 for determining aquality of a sample from a batch of a precursor material. In variousembodiments, the analyzer 30 may be configured to obtain and provideinformation about the quality of a sample. Without limitation, theanalyzer 30 may comprise a chemical analyzer (e.g., a mass spectrometer,etc.) configured to determine various constituents of the sample,including the precursor material itself, any residual solvents in theprecursor material, other impurities in the precursor material,additives to the precursor material and the like. Additionally, such ananalyzer 30 may be configured to determine relative amounts of theprecursor material and one or more other constituents of the sample.

In other embodiments, the analyzer 30 may comprise a miniaturized, orsmall-scale, material processing apparatus configured to determine thequality of a sample from a batch of precursor material by processing thesample in a parallel manner to that effected by (e.g., the same manneras, recreate processing conditions of, etc.) a commercial materialprocessing apparatus. As an example, in embodiments where the precursormaterial comprises a poly(p-xylylene) precursor, such as anunsubstituted or substituted [2.2]paracyclophane, the miniaturizedmaterial processing apparatus, or the analyzer 30, may comprise a vacuumdeposition apparatus with a vaporization element 32, a pyrolysis tube 34and a deposition chamber 36.

In any event, a miniaturized material processing apparatus may beconfigured to process a sample from a batch of a precursor material, andto enable analysis of the manner in which the sample responds to processparameters (e.g., a standardized process; a batch-specific, or tailored,process; etc.). The results of such processing may provide a profile forthe batch of precursor material, which may include information about oneor more specific characteristics of the batch of precursor material.Various embodiments of specific characteristics of the batch that may bedetermined include, but are not limited to, the presence of one or moreimpurities (e.g., the presence of certain constituents, such as water,solvents (e.g., xylene, toluene, etc.), other impurities (e.g., othertypes of precursor material, such as Parylene N or Parylene D in aParylene C precursor, etc.), additives, etc., in the batch of precursormaterial; the relative amounts of constituents of the batch of precursormaterial; etc.) or process information about the batch of precursormaterial (e.g., pressure spikes caused by the batch of precursormaterial; and the density of the batch of precursor material (e.g.,pellet vs. powder, etc.). This information may be associated with otherinformation on the batch of precursor material, including, withoutlimitation, the type of precursor material (e.g., Parylene C, ParyleneN, Parylene D, Parylene AF, etc.), the identity of the manufacturer ofthe batch of precursor material, the manufacturer's batch number for thebatch of precursor material and/or the supplier's batch number for thebatch of precursor material. This information may also be used incombination with other information (e.g., the quantity of precursormaterial; characteristics of the manner in which the precursor materialis packaged (e.g., the shape and dimensions of the boat; the thermalmass and/or thermal conductivity of the boat; dimensions and/or thermalcharacteristics of any volatilization aids, such as hexagonal shapedcells, within in the boat; etc.) to generate a process profile that isspecific to the batch of precursor material, and that may be tailored tocause a larger scale material processing apparatus to process precursormaterial from the batch in a manner that will provide a polymer and/orfilm of standard quality. Accordingly, the miniaturized materialprocessing apparatus may be referred to as a “calibration apparatus.”

Because the precursor material may be pre-analyzed by a “calibrationapparatus” in the same manner as precursor material from the same batchwould be processed by a commercial scale material processing apparatus,the use of a calibration apparatus may account for entrapped solvents,the presence of contaminants, as well as other variables, such as thethermal conductivity of the precursor material, the volatilization rateof the precursor material, the form of the precursor material (e.g.,powdered form, or pellet form, etc.), the extent to which the precursormaterial is packed (e.g., loosely, densely, etc.), etc. In someembodiments, the calibration apparatus may also be used to determine theeffects of the manner in which the precursor material is packaged (e.g.,the shape and thermal characteristics of a boat and any volatilizationaids therein, etc.) on the manner in which the precursor material willbe vaporized or sublimated. This information may also be determined fora variety of quantities of the precursor material. Accordingly, acalibration apparatus may be used to determine the actual performance ofa batch of precursor material before precursor material from the batchis deposited in bulk (e.g., onto a plurality of electronic deviceassemblies, etc.).

In some embodiments, the data obtained by using the analyzer 30 mayfacilitate the accurate generation of a process profile that may be usedto enable a larger-scale material processing apparatus to processprecursor material from the same batch in a manner that will provide apolymer and/or film of standard quality. In other embodiments, includingthose where the analyzer 30 comprises a miniature material processingapparatus, one or more additional samples may be processed by theanalyzer 30 to enable tuning of the manner in which precursor materialfrom that batch is to be processed and, thus, to provide a tailoredprocess profile for that batch of precursor material.

Once data has been obtained that will enable generation of a processprofile for a batch of precursor material, or once the process profilehas itself been generated, that data may be stored. In some embodiments,the data may be stored on a tag 48 (FIG. 3) that is to be packaged withquantities of precursor material 42 from that batch. Alternatively, thedata may be stored on a server, and the tag 48 may store informationthat serves as an index that enables the data to be accessed from theserver. In some embodiments, software may be used to capture the dataand, optionally, to generate additional data regarding a profile (e.g.,a quality profile, a purity profile, a process profile, etc.) for thebatch of precursor material. The tag 48 may be configured to remotelycommunicate the data to a complementary reader 54 (FIG. 4) associatedwith a material processing apparatus 50 (FIG. 4).

In a specific embodiment, the tag 48 (FIG. 3) may comprise aradiofrequency identification (RFID) tag or another suitable near fieldcommunication element. The data may be stored on the near fieldcommunication element in a manner known in the art.

In another embodiment, the tag 48 (FIG. 3) may comprise an opticallyscannable element. A non-limiting example of an optically scannableelement is a barcode, which may comprise any suitable configuration ofbarcode, including, without limitation, a one-dimensional barcode (whichincludes a series of parallel lines) or a two-dimensional barcode (whichincludes so-called “matrix barcodes,” e.g., QR codes, etc.). An outputelement may generate a physical representation of the opticallyscannable element. In various embodiments, the output element may definethe optically scannable element on a substrate. Without limitation, theoutput element print the optically scannable element onto a label, printthe optically scannable element directly onto a substrate by which theoptically scannable element is to be carried (e.g., a boat, a removablelid for a boat, etc.) or etch the optically scannable element into thesubstrate (e.g., by laser ablation, etc.).

Turning now to FIG. 3, an embodiment of a packaged precursor material 40comprises a quantity of a precursor material 42 and a tag 48. The tag 48carries data regarding one or more characteristics (e.g., a quality,purity, a specific characteristic, a process profile, etc.) of a batchfrom which the precursor material 42 was obtained. In some embodiments,the precursor material 42 may be carried by a boat 44 or anothercarrier. More specifically, the precursor material 42 may be carriedwithin a reservoir 46 of the boat 44 or other carrier. In embodimentswhere the precursor material 42 is carried by a boat 44 or anothercarrier, the tag 48 may also be carried by (e.g., it may be affixed to,engaged by, etc.) the boat 44 or other carrier. Alternatively, the tag48 may be placed within the reservoir 46 of a boat 44, along with theprecursor material 42.

As illustrated by FIG. 4, a packaged precursor material 40, such as thatdepicted by FIG. 3, may be configured for introduction into a receptacle52 of a material deposition apparatus 50. In addition to the receptacle52, the material deposition apparatus 50 may include a reader 54, a dataprocessing element 56 and a material processing component 60.

The reader 54, which is associated with the receptacle 52, may beconfigured to obtain data carried by a tag 48 that is associated withthe boat 44 (FIG. 3) of the packaged precursor material 40 (FIG. 3). Thedata carried by the tag 48 corresponds to the precursor material 42(FIG. 3) of the packaged precursor material 40 or, more specifically, toa batch of precursor material from which the precursor material 42 wasobtained. The reader 54 may also be configured to communicate the datafrom the tag 48 to the data processing element 56 of the materialprocessing apparatus 50. In some embodiments, the reader 54 may generatea signal that carries the data.

In embodiments where the tag 48 comprises an RFID tag, the reader 54 maycomprise an RFID reader of a known type, and which is compatible withthe RFID tag. In embodiments where the tag 48 comprises a barcode, thereader 54 may comprise a barcode reader, or a barcode scanner, of aknown type, and which is compatible with the barcode. Of course, othertypes of readers 54 may also be included in a material processingapparatus 50 according to this disclosure, provided that the reader 54is configured to obtain data from the tag 48 of packaged precursormaterials 40 that are to be used with the material processing apparatus50.

Upon receiving the signal from the reader 54, the data processingelement 56 may, under control of one or more programs, process the data.Processing of the data may include obtaining from the signal apredetermined process profile (e.g., a vaporization profile orsublimation profile, etc., that was determined during calibration of thebatch of precursor material) for the precursor material 42 (FIG. 3).Alternatively, the data processing element 56 may process data thatcorresponds to one or more characteristics of a batch of precursormaterial, as obtained during calibration of that batch or precursormaterial, from the signal and use that data in conjunction with anyoptional information on the manner in which the batch of precursormaterial has been packaged to generate a process profile for theprecursor material 42. In some embodiments, the process profile may begenerated based on a standard process profile for a standard precursormaterial (i.e., for a precursor material of standard purity, for aprecursor material with a standard amount of one or more impurities, fora precursor material with a standard amount of one or more solvents,etc.). In other embodiments, the data processing element 56 may generatethe process profile by inputting the data into an algorithm.

The material processing component 60 of the material processingapparatus 50 may be configured to operate under control of the dataprocessing element 56 and, thus, process a quantity of precursormaterial 42 (FIG. 1) in accordance with a process profile received,modified or generated by the data processing element 56. As analternative to automatic operation of the material processing component60 of the material processing apparatus 50, the data processing element56 may then output recommendations to an operator of the materialprocessing apparatus 50.

Without limitation, the material processing component 60 may beconfigured to process a precursor material 42 that comprises apoly(p-xylylene) precursor, such as an unsubstituted or substituted[2.2]paracyclophane. Such a material processing component 60 mayinclude, among other elements, a vaporizer 62, a pyrolyzer 64 and adeposition chamber 66, as known in the art. Operation of the vaporizer62 and the pyrolyzer 64 may be controlled by the data processing element56.

With continued reference to FIG. 4, as well as returned reference toFIG. 1, an embodiment of the manner in which a process profile may beexecuted by a data processing element 56 of a material processing system50 to control the manner in which a material processing component 60 ofthe material processing system 50 processes a precursor material 42(FIG. 3) is shown and described. The process profile is represented inFIG. 1 as a temperature curve 20.

When a quantity of precursor material 42 (FIG. 3) is first introducedinto the receptacle 52 of the material processing apparatus 50, whichreceptacle 52, in this embodiment, communicates with a vaporizer 62, thevaporizer 62 may be operated in a manner that initiates heating of theprecursor material 42. The rate at which the vaporizer 62 ramps thetemperature of the precursor material 42 depends, at least in part, onthe amounts of one or more constituents (e.g., any residual solvents inthe precursor material, other impurities in the precursor material,additives to the precursor material, etc.) in the precursor material 42,and on the effect of each constituent on the pressure within thevaporizer 62, the pyrolyzer 64 and the deposition chamber 66.Accordingly, when the amount of a constituent of the precursor material42 will not have a significant effect on pressure, the rate at which thevaporizer 62 increases the temperature of the precursor material 42 mayremain the same or substantially the same. In FIG. 1, this isillustrated by a portion 22 of the temperature curve 20 that correspondsto the toluene vaporization peak 12′ of the batch-specific pressurecurve 10′, which indicates that the precursor material 42 does notinclude toluene in an amount significant enough to have an undesirableeffect on the pressure that is generated during vaporization. Thus, therate at which the temperature is ramped upward may remain unmodifiedrelative to a corresponding temperature ramp of a standard temperaturecurve that may be used when a standard precursor material is processed.

In the depicted embodiment, the amount of another constituent (e.g.,xylene, etc.) present in the precursor material 42 (FIG. 3) to which theprocess profile and the temperature curve 20 correspond may, whenprocessed, increase pressure to an extent that may have an undesirableeffect on a polymer and/or a film that may be formed and/or deposited bythe process. Accordingly, as the temperature of the precursor material42 (FIG. 3) approaches the initial temperature associated with avaporization peak that corresponds to that constituent (e.g., a xylenevaporization peak 14′—a temperature of about 110° C., etc.), the rate atwhich the vaporizer 62 ramps the temperature upward may be decreased orthe temperature may be held substantially steady, as represented by ahorizontal segment 24 of the temperature curve 20. The duration of timefor which the vaporizer 62 holds the temperature of the precursormaterial 42 substantially steady or increases the temperature of theprecursor material 42 at an otherwise reduced rate may depend upon theamount of the constituent in the precursor material 42, and may not bere-increased to normal until a sufficient amount of the constituent hasbeen removed from the precursor material 42 to enable the precursormaterial 42 to be vaporized at an acceptable pressure.

Once a potentially problematic constituent has been sufficientlyvaporized, the vaporizer 62 may increase the rate at which thetemperature of the precursor material 42 is ramped upward, asrepresented by segment 26 of the temperature curve 20. Once all of theconstituents that may undesirably increase pressure have been removedfrom the precursor material 42, the vaporizer 62 may heat the precursormaterial to its vaporization temperature without having an undesirableeffect on the pressure within the pyrolyzer 64 or the deposition chamber66.

By way of contrast, if the precursor material 42 was subjected to astandard process used for a standard precursor material, which mayinclude subjecting the precursor material 42 to a temperature thatincreases at a substantially constant rate until it reaches thevaporization temperature, any pressure spikes caused by volatileconstituents (e.g., the toluene vaporization peak 14′, etc.) mayundesirably increase pressure within the vaporizer 62 (e.g., to 75 mT),which could also undesirably increase pressure within the pyrolyzer 64and the deposition chamber 66. Such an increase in pressure may have alasting effect on the pressure within the material processing component60. For example, even after the volatile constituent is vaporized, thepressure within the pyrolyzer 64 and/or the deposition chamber 66 mayremain undesirably high (e.g., at 38 mT at location 16′ of thebatch-specific vaporization curve 10′, etc.), which may have anundesirable effect on the polymer and/or film formed by the process(e.g., it may result in a white film, as typically occurs when thepressure of the reactive species that polymerize to form apoly(p-xylylene) are subjected to a pressure of greater than 25 mT,etc.).

When the disclosed techniques are used, process parameters may beadjusted to compensate for differences between a precursor material 42(FIG. 3) that is introduced into a material processing apparatus 50 anda standard precursor material for which a standard process to beperformed by the material processing apparatus 50 has been developed.More specifically, the standard process may be adjusted to compensatefor a profile of a precursor material 42 that is introduced into thereceptacle 52 of the material processing apparatus 50. The standardprocess may also be adjusted to compensate for variations in the type ofprecursor material 42 used (e.g., use of Parylene N, Parylene D, moreexotic materials like Parylene AF, mixtures of different types ofParylene, etc., instead of Parylene C; etc.), regardless of whether ornot an operator of the material processing apparatus 50 has anyknowledge of the type of precursor material 42 he or she is introducinginto the material processing apparatus 50. Accordingly, the time andeffort needed to tune a material processing apparatus 50 when switchingbetween batches of precursor material 42 and/or between precursormaterials 42 from different sources may be reduced or eliminated.Moreover, the disclosed subject matter may reduce the amount of timethat is needed to install a material processing apparatus 50 and toprepare the material processing apparatus 50 for use. Furthermore, thedisclosed subject matter may reduce the probability of faulty materialprocessing, as well as the losses (e.g., in time, materials, substrates,etc.) associated with faulty material processing.

Although the preceding disclosure provides many specifics, these shouldnot be construed as limiting the scope of any of the ensuing claims.Other embodiments may be devised which do not depart from the scopes ofthe claims. Features from different embodiments may be employed incombination. The scope of each claim is, therefore, indicated andlimited only by its plain language and the full scope of available legalequivalents to its elements.

What is claimed:
 1. A method for packaging a precursor material for usein a material deposition process, comprising: analyzing at least onecharacteristic of a sample of a batch of the precursor material; basedon the at least one characteristic, determining a profile of the batchof the precursor material; storing the profile on a tag; packaging aportion of the batch of the precursor material with a boat configuredfor introduction into a material processing apparatus; and associatingthe tag with the boat.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining theprofile comprises: determining a purity profile of the batch of theprecursor material; and/or determining a vaporization profile of thebatch of the precursor material.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinanalyzing the at least one characteristic includes analyzing an amountof at least one solvent in the sample of the batch of the precursormaterial.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein analyzing the at least onecharacteristic includes analyzing an amount of at least one impurity inthe sample of the batch of the precursor material.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein analyzing the at least one characteristic includesanalyzing a purity of the precursor material in the sample of the batchof the precursor material.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein determiningthe profile comprises accounting for at least one spike in pressureassociated with a boiling point of at least one solvent in the batch ofthe precursor material.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein determiningthe profile of the batch of the precursor material comprises processingthe sample of the batch of the precursor material in a calibrationapparatus configured to process the precursor material in accordancewith a standardized process.
 8. The method of claim 7, whereindetermining the profile of the batch of the precursor material comprisesidentifying variations from expected results of processing the precursormaterial in accordance with the standardized process.
 9. The method ofclaim 8, wherein identifying variations from expected results includesidentifying variations between an actual pressure profile of the sampleof the batch of the precursor material and a standard pressure profilefor the precursor material.
 10. The method of claim 8, whereinidentifying variations from expected results includes identifyingvariations between an actual characteristic of a film deposited by thecalibration apparatus and a corresponding standard characteristic of afilm deposited using the precursor material.
 11. The method of claim 1,wherein storing the profile on the tag comprises storing the profile ona radiofrequency identification (RFID) tag or on an optically scannableelement.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein associating the tag with theboat comprises securing the tag to the boat.
 13. A system for preparinga batch of a precursor material for packaging, comprising: a profilingelement for obtaining a profile for the batch of the precursor material;a programming element for storing data corresponding to the profile on atag to be packaged with a quantity of the precursor material from thebatch; and a packaging element for packaging the quantity of theprecursor material from the batch and the tag with a boat.
 14. Thesystem of claim 13, wherein the profiling element is configured toidentify at least one impurity in the batch of the precursor material.15. The system of claim 14, wherein the profiling element is furtherconfigured to identify an amount of the at least one impurity in thebatch of the precursor material.
 16. The system of claim 13, wherein theprogramming element is configured to store the data corresponding to theprofile on a radiofrequency identification (RFID) tag or on an opticallyscannable element.
 17. The system of claim 13, wherein the programmingelement is configured to store data corresponding to: a purity of thequantity of precursor material; and/or a vaporization profile for thequantity of precursor material.
 18. A method for processing a precursormaterial to deposit a polymeric film onto a substrate, comprising:inserting a boat carrying a quantity of precursor material and a taginto a receptacle associated with a vaporization chamber of a materialdeposition apparatus, the tag storing data corresponding to a profilethat corresponds to the precursor material within the boat;communicating data from the tag to the material deposition apparatus;and vaporizing the precursor material within the boat with the materialdeposition apparatus in accordance with the data stored by the tag. 19.The method of claim 18, further comprising: generating the profile basedon the data from the tag, the profile being used to control vaporizationof the precursor material.
 20. The method of claim 19, whereingenerating the profile comprises modifying a standard vaporizationprofile based on the data from the tag.
 21. The method of claim 20,wherein generating the profile comprises comparing an amount of at leastone component of the quantity of precursor material to a standard amountof the at least one component in a standard precursor material.
 22. Themethod of claim 21, wherein comparing comprises comparing an amount ofat least one impurity in the quantity of precursor material to astandard amount of the at least one impurity in the standard precursormaterial.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein comparing comprisescomparing an amount of at least one solvent in the quantity of precursormaterial to a standard amount of the at least one solvent in thestandard precursor material.
 24. The method of claim 19, whereingenerating the profile is effected by the material deposition apparatusor a data processing element of the material deposition apparatus.
 25. Amaterial deposition apparatus, comprising: a receptacle for a packagedprecursor material, the packaged precursor material including a quantityof precursor material and a tag that carries data corresponding to apurity profile of the quantity of precursor material; a readerconfigured to obtain the data from the tag carried by the boat and togenerate a signal that carries the data; a data processing elementconfigured to receive a signal from the reader, the data processingelement programmed to generate a vaporization profile based on the datacarried by the signal and to control vaporization of the quantity ofprecursor material in accordance with the vaporization profile; and amaterial processing component associated with the receptacle andconfigured to operate under control of the data processing element. 26.The material deposition apparatus of claim 25, wherein the datacomprises a vaporization profile.
 27. The material deposition apparatusof claim 25, wherein the data comprises a purity profile for thequantity of precursor material.
 28. The material deposition apparatus ofclaim 27, wherein the data processing element is programmed to generatea vaporization profile for the quantity of precursor material based onthe purity profile.
 29. The material deposition apparatus of claim 27,wherein the data processing element is programmed to modify a standardvaporization profile for a standard precursor material that correspondsto the quantity of precursor material based on the purity profile. 30.The material deposition apparatus of claim 25, wherein the quantity ofprecursor material comprises a quantity of a precursor to apoly(p-xylylene).